Hester

“Imagine a working-class voter who has just finished a second shift at work. She races home to check on her kids, then hurries over to her polling location. The last time she voted was a while ago, probably for president. No one reached out to her to vote in local elections, whenever they were—she can’t quite recall, given her jobs as a pre-K teacher and a cashier at the local pharmacy. But she tries to vote when she can. After waiting in line for nearly two hours, she reaches the front desk, identification in hand. Only, the poll worker tells her she is not on the list. Confused, she explains that she still lives at the same address and hasn’t changed anything about her circumstances. She hasn’t committed a felony, and she cares about this race because the candidate seems to have a plan for increased access to childcare. However, she sheepishly admits that she hasn’t voted since Obama won the first time. The kindly poll worker explains that the woman has probably been purged. She’s lost her right to vote because she didn’t use it often enough.”
― Stacey Abrams, Our Time Is Now: Power, Purpose, and the Fight for a Fair America